Product Description

From spring green to winter gold, the drama of grasses is nonstop. There are the striking yellow-and-green ostrich plumes of Zebra Grass. The fine-textured leaves of Blue Oat Grass. Flame Grass's dazzling red-orange leaves, Fountain Grass's coppery brushes, the rich brown nuggets of Northern Sea Oats, the feathery purple haze of Switch Grass.

Whether on their own or as backdrops for colorful garden flowers, ornamental grasses are admired for their color, form, movement, and texture. They also aid in erosion control, soil stabilization, and water retention, making them great conservation tools for gardeners in all hardiness zones. Although grasses are widely available at garden centers all over North America, few books advise the gardener on how to use them in the garden - and especially how to combine them with perennials and other plants. GRASSES features plans and practical advice for more than 24 unique gardens. It's complete with an identification and growing guide to the plants, and it features more than 150 full-color photographs, illustrations, and landscape plans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #150019 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From Booklist
No longer relegated to back-of-the-border backdrops for showy perennials or space-filling solutions for inconsequential garden areas, ornamental grasses are moving front and center as befits their versatile, adaptable, and irresistible nature. From their burnished glow when backlit by a setting sun to the textural richness they bring to a mixed border, grasses offer much in the way of gardening excitement and distinction yet require little maintenance in return. After succinctly covering the cultural basics of grass gardening, Ondra concentrates her efforts on extolling their multifaceted design distinctions. For every garden element, from borders, pathways, and containers to location challenges such as shade, slopes and screening, Ondra's capsule "designer's choices" offer brief but essential descriptions to aid in plant selection and planning considerations, and quick-reference lists highlight grasses that work well in such diverse conditions as hot-and-dry sites and low-and-wet bogs. Supported by Saxon Holt's captivating color photographs, Ondra elevates grasses from garden understudies to starring roles. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"...one of the year's best new garden guides." -- Country Living Gardener

"Looking for handsome foliage, fascinating flowers and eye-catching fall color? Try GRASSES." -- Publisher's Weekly

Review

“Looking for handsome foliage, fascinating flowers and eye-catching fall color? Try Grasses…”

—Publishers Weekly

"Supported by Saxon Holt's captivating color photographs, Ondra [Nancy] elevates grasses from garden understudies to starring roles.” —Booklist

“Grasses…one of the year’s best new garden guides.” —Country Living Gardener

“Beginning and advanced gardeners alike will find this book full of inspiration and advice on how to get the most from ornamental grasses.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“Love ornamental grasses but don’t know how to work them into your garden?  This book offers design possibilities…” —Houston Chronicle

"Plenty of photos of the many grass choices can help you focus on varieties that mesh with your interests." – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Illustrated with spectacular photos by Saxon Holt, Grasses focuses on design themes in landscapes throughout the seasons.” —Indianapolis Star

" If your vision of grasses is limited to the wheat fields of Kansas, this book on ornamental grasses is sure to expand your horizons—and may even inspire you…" – Hartford Courant

Customer Reviews

Quality photography enhances this practical reference guide.
Grasses by freelance gardening writer Nancy J. Ondra is a beautiful and practical guide to raising ornamental grasses in one's garden. Filled cover to cover with excellent color photographs by life-long gardener and gardening photographer Saxon Holt of aesthetic and splendid grasses, the profusely illustrated text presents the reader with a wide choice of colored grasses to best accentuate the beauty of one's garden and how to best select choice plants for wet, dry, hot, or shady sites. Highly recommended for personal and professional gardening, horticultural and landscaping reference collections, even non-gardeners will appreciate the dazzling, coffee-table book quality photography of this singularly elegant yet practical guide.

Less Grass More Grasses
Grasses. They add so much wonderful texture to perennial collections and the landscape. They add terrific movement, catching the smallest breezes, defying the strongest winds and I wanted them in my garden however I knew so little about them. Then along came this terrific book by Nancy J. Ondra with photographs by Saxon Holt. Everything about this book is appealing.
I appreciate the way it is laid out in four sections; Getting to Know Grasses, Color Palettes, Seasonal Usage and Selecting for Location. Ms. Ondra is a font of information without overloading your brain and as a Grasses Novice I find that useful. The photography by Mr. Holt is truly beautiful, with most of the photographs taken in combinations with other plant materials so you can get the feel of the various Grasses in the landscape. Section Four (p.94) really helps you get down to the nitty-gritty of making the appropriate selections for various soils and exposures. This is the sort of book to use year in and year out and I think would be useful to professional and advanced gardners as well as beginners. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this volume. Highly recommended!

My favorite Grasses book
This book is full of great photos of grasses in gardens, and I find it inspirational. It shows grasses mixed with other common perennials in situations most gardeners could replicate in their own gardens. The author includes growing tips and site preferences for many different species.
There are some books you always reach for on a certain type of plant, and this is the one I find myself always reaching for on grasses. I happen to be a Master Gardener who loves ornamental grass gardening.